Today, an Appeals Court Loss for Michigan, Tennessee Catholics in HHS Mandate Case

A federal appeals court ruled August 21 that nine Catholic groups in Michigan and Tennessee must provide birth control in their employee health insurance plans. The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Catholic groups’ claims that providing contraception violated the religious liberty of the Catholic organizations.

It was the opinion of the Appeals Court that their religious rights are not substantially burdened by a process created by the federal government for opting out of providing contraceptive coverage due to religious objections.

In Michigan, organizations affected by the ruling of the three-judge panel included the Michigan Catholic Conference, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan, as well as Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Kalamazoo.  The Michigan Catholic Conference has not yet issued a full statement, but expressed their disappointment via Twitter:

In Tennessee, Catholic organizations which are impacted by today’s ruling include the Diocese of Nashville, Catholic Charities of Tennesse, Camp Marymount of Fairview TN, Mary, Queen of Angels assisted living center in Nashville, St. Mary Villa (a Nashville child development center), the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia based in Nashville, and Aquinas College.

The HHS Mandate provides exemptions for religious groups, meaning that the Catholic groups would not be forced to pay directly for employee contraception. However, the Catholic groups felt they are still being made to pay for contraception indirectly through insurance providers.

The Obama Administration, arguing in favor of the Mandate, cites statistics which claim that 99% of women have used birth control at some point in their lives. The Administration has argued that more than half of women between 18 and 34 struggle to afford contraception.

But the problem arises with the Obama Administration’s definition of a “Catholic organization.” Under the current policy, churches are exempt–but nonprofit organizations such as colleges and social service agencies are not “churches” so must comply with the Mandate. Religious organizations such as the Michigan Catholic Conference insist that using contraception violates their faith, and so employers who are observant Catholics shouldn’t be required to provide contraceptives for their employees.

Meanwhile, another court ruled in favor of the Little Sisters of the Poor in their case against the HHS Mandate. A ruling today by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Little Sisters of the Poor did not need to pay for contraception for their employees, nor pass the responsibility for contraceptive care along to another organization.